


Permanence

by justapipe-dream (ginita105)



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, What else is new, Yes again, and Neil being hot, and then Neil being cute, mostly Andrew thinking and realizing stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 05:25:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8358982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginita105/pseuds/justapipe-dream
Summary: Neil wasn’t the reason for Andrew’s newfound stability, but he had been the eye opener. Neil had taught him that not all humans wanted to break the glass walls he built around himself, some had the decency to find the door and knock.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Also on tumblr (: http://justapipe-dream.tumblr.com/post/152205537602/title-permanence-also-on-ao3-pairing-andrew

Their cabinets weren’t filled with much: they only bought what was strictly necessary and kept whatever was given as a gift out of convenience. Still, the few plates, the couple of cereal bowls, the matching white and orange mugs and all the cutlery items were more than enough to get a reaction out of Andrew. He never caused a scene- no tears escaped his eyes and no smile graced his lips- but every time Neil set the table while he cooked, every time they sat together and ate in comfortable silence, using that same tableware over and over again, something sparked inside him. 

Permanence had never been a part of Andrew’s vocabulary. Unwanted, fostered, moving from place to place, from person to person. Life hadn’t allowed him to stay, or ever given him a good enough reason to. Until Neil, that was. Neil wasn’t the reason for Andrew’s newfound stability, but he had been the eye opener. Neil had taught him that not all humans wanted to break the glass walls he built around himself, some had the decency to find the door and knock. People joked about losing faith in humanity all the time, but it hadn’t been a joke to Andrew, all those years ago when he lost his. As it turned out, humanity was overrated anyway. All these people he’d found, all these humans Neil had taught him to trust or at least tolerate, they’d all had tough pasts, they all had flaws, and a very damaged connection with humanity. 

That was the reason for that new feeling he got whenever he looked at the younger boy, at their ex teammates, at the tableware. Belonging, he finally felt like he belonged. He didn’t belong with the people who had tried to help him when he was younger, the foster parents, the nice ladies, the authority figures… He belonged with the broken, the fighters, the survivors, the ones who didn’t have any faith in humanity because humanity had never had any faith in them.

The door to their shared apartment opened, freeing Andrew from his thoughts. Their two cats rushed to greet the person who fed them the most, purring and brushing against Neil’s legs. Sweat glued auburn hair to his forehead and ran down the side of the boy’s flushed face. Neil’s labored breathing coupled with his tired state reminded Andrew of things they’d done the night before, and desire threatened to show between his legs. He promptly turned back to the coffee machine, avoiding the smug look he knew would be plastered on Neil’s face.

“Good morning,” the blue eyed menace said, dragging his abused legs and feet towards the kitchen. 

“Could be if you hadn’t brought that stench in here.” 

Neil rolled his eyes, looking anything but annoyed. Andrew had run out of ways to annoy him. The boy could see through his every action and interpreted most of them as good, and the rest he knew not to take personally. He poured himself a glass of water and Andrew found himself eyeing it, following the movement, being reminded of what he had been thinking about before Neil arrived from his morning run. They had a place now, and that place had a couch, a bed, a table, a TV, forks, knives that served just for eating, glasses, cats… They had all those things and they shared them, they used them together, they were theirs. That was permanence, and he never thought he’d enjoy something so much. 

“Wash this for me while I shower, then?” Neil asked, passing him the empty glass. To someone else it would have seemed impolite, but words such as ‘please’ went without saying in their household. When Andrew nodded, almost absentmindedly, the younger boy started walking backwards across the living room and in the direction of the bathroom. He teasingly removed the sweaty tank top, showing off what Exy had helped to build (and oh, how quickly Andrew started caring for that game when he was reminded of such things). “Or maybe you should join me. Share the water. Help the environment.” 

And so he did. He had Neil waiting for him, possibly already naked, in their bathroom… His thoughts could wait.


End file.
